


The Parting Glass

by KryptoKin



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Gen, Sad, Songfic, the parting glass, very sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 10:19:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16574603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KryptoKin/pseuds/KryptoKin
Summary: I was writing a Lena finds out fic while listening to Celtic Woman and this popped out instead. (The one I intended to write will be posted within the coming week.)This is probably one of my best fics written in one sitting.Gotta warn ya, this is kinda sad.





	The Parting Glass

L-Corp goes down in history as one of the most entrepreneurial and philanthropic companies to ever exist. The good it does on an individual and corporate level astounds most historians. Or, at least it will. This good continues for centuries down the road. The only one who can compete with her in the amount of goodness bestowed upon the world is Supergirl.

_Of all the money e’er I had_

_I spent it in good company_

_And all the harm that e’er I did_

_Alas, it was to none but me_

 

Brainiac-5 is grateful to have returned to the 31st century, despite missing his 21st century friends. He dives into work immediately and continues happily until a twitch at the back of his mind draws him to the records room. It never occurred to him to read these in detail. Now that he has personalities and emotions to connect to those names, he does so enthusiastically. His chest swells with happiness and joy at what Lena Luthor and Supergirl accomplish down the road. When he reads the next record, his heart aches and constricts. This time, there aren’t enough tiny boxes to fill the emotions that overwhelm him.

 

_And all I’ve done for want of wit_

_To memory now I can't recall_

_So, fill to me the parting glass_

_Good night and joy be with you all_

 

James refuses to talk about it. Neither his sister, Clark, or Nia and get him to open about what he’s feeling. It’s not until Winn returns that his Guardian-esque exterior cracks. It takes him having a guys’ night with Clark and Winn to get him to even say her name, which ends with a lot of crying. James is certain he hasn’t cried this much since his dad died.

 

_So, fill to me the parting glass_

_And gather as the evening falls,_

_And gently rise and softly call_

_Good night and joy be with you all_

 

Alex is the first one on the scene of the fateful night. There have been many days since then where she wishes she hadn’t been. She wishes someone else had beaten her to it. It’s not because it was particularly gruesome. The sound, however, the sound of sorrowful wailing never quite leaves her. It even drives her to call Sam and Ruby or her mother whenever she feels at a loss. When that doesn’t work, a long visit to J’onn does her some good.

 

_Of all the comrades that e’er I had_

_They’re sorry for my going away_

_And all the sweethearts that e’er I had_

_They’d wish me one more day to stay_  


Sam Arias doesn’t stop crying for two weeks straight. Ever since their move to Metropolis, things have been spectacular for her and Ruby. The rare drama they experience is normal and very much human, though the occasional pickle jar does make Sam wish she had super strength. When the news of what happened reaches her, she can’t stop wishing she found a way with Alex and Lena to remove Reign yet keep her powers. Drowning in “what if” isn’t good for anyone, but it’s what Sam holds onto (besides Ruby) until Alex Danvers makes a surprise visit to Metropolis.

 

_But since it fell into my lot_

_That I should rise, and you should not_

_I gently rise and softly call_

_Good night and joy be with you all_

            It should have been her. This is the mantra she repeats over and over until it’s all she thinks about from morning to night when her mind isn’t preoccupied by work. It quiets down over the years, but whenever she sees a bottle of kombucha or hears an NSYNC song her eyes well up and her throat constricts. It’s always the mundane everyday stuff that gets her.

 

_So, fill to me the parting glass_

_And gather as the evening falls,_

_And gently rise and softly call_

_Good night and joy be with you all_

 

            Cat Grant is the first person she goes to, funny enough. Not Alex, not Eliza, not Sam. Cat softens the moment she sees her at her doorway and tells Carter to get her a big bag of M&Ms and put that rhubarb pie she made into the oven. After Carter goes to bed, the candy is switched out for a few glasses of wine and much conversation that shows Cat knows Kara and Supergirl are one and the same person. This brings great comfort for weeks to come and lets Kara Danvers mourn over Lena Luthor for weeks after that.

 

_Since it fell into my lot_

_That I should rise, and you should not_

_I’ll gently rise and softly call_

_Good night and joy be with you all_

 

Lena said in her will she didn’t want to be buried with the Luthors, but with her birth mother in Ireland. Kara makes sure her wish is fulfilled. And every year on three different dates—Lena’s birthday, the anniversary of her death, and the anniversary of her and Kara first meeting—Kara goes to Lena’s grave and takes the time to lay down a bouquet of plumerias. Even when her temples grey and wrinkles hug at the corners of her eyes, she still kneels in the grass for nearly an hour. Then, in quiet habit, she runs her fingers over the words etched at the top of Lena’s headstone. It’s only written once, but Kara can’t help but say it twice.

 

_Good night and joy be with you all_

_Good night and joy be with you all_

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was going to have Kara be the one who died, but it just fit with Lena better. Y’all should check out Celtic Woman’s version of The Parting Glass. There are other beautiful versions, but this was the one I was listening to when I wrote this. (And ya can’t come at me for the lyrics since it’s public domain. *sticks out tongue*)


End file.
